A CRANFORD shopkeeper has appealed after being stripped of his fireworks licence for breaching safety regulations.

Berkeley Super Stores, in Bath Road, lost its licence after council inspectors found a raft of safety hazards, including fireworks blocking the ventilation on a fridge, during a visit last month.

However, the owner of the shop, Sunderjit Singh Atwal, put the breaches down to a 'terrible mistake' which happened after he had to be rushed to hospital early that morning with liver problems.

Manjeet Nandra, who helps Mr Atwal run the store, said they had received a delivery of fireworks on the evening before the visit.

They were busy pricing them, ready to be placed in lock-up cabinets, when Mr Atwal fell seriously ill. Ms Nandra said she was so worried about his health she left the fireworks where they were, intending to finish the job before opening the next day.

She claimed the shop was only open on the morning of the visit due to a mix-up over the keys, after an employee at the neighbouring beauty salon locked herself out.

"We've been selling fireworks for 15 years and we've always been very careful to keep everything under lock and key," added Ms Nandra.

"I know this was a big mistake but I didn't know what to do at the time because I thought he (Mr Atwal) was dying."

In a report to the council, trading standards officers say that during their visit on October 21, they also observed: * fireworks stored for sale on open shelves * explosives in open boxes in the corridor and in unsecured cupboards **more than 75kg of explosives stored in an outlet adjoining domestic premises **failure to carry out a fire risk assessment.

Mr Atwal's appeal is due to be heard at a licensing meeting on Monday.